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Reno-Tahoe drops 2030 Winter Olympic bid

By OlympicTalkNov 12, 2018, 6:56 PM EST
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If the U.S. bids for the 2030 Winter Olympics, it will not be with Reno-Tahoe.

The Nevada/California region ended its pursuit of becoming a U.S. bid city, at least for an Olympics in the near future. The U.S. is expected to bid for 2030, and the U.S. Olympic Committee last year named Reno-Tahoe, Denver and Salt Lake City as cities that expressed interest.

“We have maintained from the start that a Reno-Tahoe bid would have to make sense economically, environmentally and socially,” Brian Krolicki, chairman of the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition, said in a press release. “Given the parameters and conditions presented, we cannot make the numbers pass muster. To continue, at this point, would be untenable and unwise.”

The coalition noted the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games having exclusive Olympic marketing rights from 2019 through its Closing Ceremony as an obstacle.

The region hosted the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. Since, the U.S. has hosted two Winter Olympics — in Lake Placid in 1980 and Salt Lake City in 2002. It hasn’t hosted a Summer or Winter Games since, its longest drought since the 28-year gap between 1932 and 1960.

The International Olympic Committee vote in 2019 to choose the 2026 Winter Olympic host city could impact a potential U.S. 2030 bid. The remaining 2026 bidders are Calgary, Stockholm and an Italian bid with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Calgary’s bid hinges on a public vote Tuesday. North America has never hosted back-to-back Winter Olympics.

Olympic host cities are traditionally chosen seven years beforehand.

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Shaun White eyes his longest break from snowboard contests

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By Nick ZaccardiNov 12, 2018, 4:37 PM EST
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Reno-Tahoe drops 2030 Winter Olympic bid Karen Chen out of Grand Prix Series Wu Dajing, world’s fastest short track speed skater, lowers his world record

Shaun White said he has no plans to compete in snowboarding this season, which would mark the first time he goes a full year without entering a contest.

“I normally take every season after the Olympics off to clear my head,” White said in a statement via his team. “This time around I’ll be filling my time with skateboarding.”

White said in July that he would lighten his snowboard schedule as he returns to skateboarding competition. The triple Olympic halfpipe champion is considering a Tokyo 2020 run in the new Summer Olympic sport.

White entered his first skateboard contest in years in September and called his performance “pretty terrible,” but not surprising given it was his first-ever bowl event.

White earned five X Games skateboard medals between 2005 and 2011, but all of those came in vert, which is not on the Olympic program.

“Honestly, I am here to see how things go,” White said at the September event in Marseille, according to Agence France-Presse. “I haven’t made a decision either way [on 2020], I just figured, want to have some fun, skateboard, come to France and then hopefully make a decision come new year if I’m really going to go for it or not.”

As for snowboarding, White has typically eased off in post-Olympic years. In 2010-11 and 2014-15, his only contest was the Winter X Games, according to World Snowboarding, whose results show that White’s longest break from contests was 11 months.

White has said he would like to go for a fifth Winter Games in Beijing in 2022. He would be 35, older than any previous Olympic snowboarding champion. He’s already the oldest halfpipe medalist.

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Karen Chen out of Grand Prix Series

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By Nick ZaccardiNov 12, 2018, 11:49 AM EST
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Reno-Tahoe drops 2030 Winter Olympic bid Shaun White eyes his longest break from snowboard contests Wu Dajing, world’s fastest short track speed skater, lowers his world record

U.S. Olympian Karen Chen will miss the entire fall Grand Prix Series, withdrawing from this week’s Rostelecom Cup in Moscow with an injury.

“Although I know that injuries make me stronger, I also understand that it takes time,” was posted on Chen’s social media. “I need to be patient with this whole recovery process, so I realized that Russia isn’t doable. This wasn’t an easy decision, but I know that I want to feel 100% ready when I emerge back onto competition ice.”

Chen, third at last year’s nationals and 11th in PyeongChang, also withdrew last month from her other Grand Prix in Helsinki, citing a foot injury, as well as lower-level events in the summer and the world championships in March.

If Chen’s next event is the U.S. Championships in January, she will go 11 months between competitions.

Chen is the latest in a string of U.S. Olympians to sit out the Grand Prix for various reasons, not uncommon in a post-Olympic year. Mirai Nagasu, Ashley Wagner and Adam Rippon are on indefinite breaks (Rippon said he’s likely retired). Polina Edmunds plans to return next season from a long-term right foot injury.

Ice dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani are also taking time off, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates withdrew from their Grand Prix assignments as Chock recovers from ankle surgery.

Chen, 19, broke out in 2017, winning her first U.S. title and placing fourth at the world championships, the best debut by an American woman since Kimmie Meissner took gold in 2006.

Bradie Tennell is the lone female U.S. Olympic singles skater competing in multiple Grand Prix events this fall. She was fourth at Skate America and must finish on the podium at next week’s event in France for a chance at the six-skater Grand Prix Final in December.

If Tennell does not qualify, the U.S. will have zero women in the Grand Prix Final, the second-biggest annual international event, for a third straight year.

As a reminder, you can watch the ISU Grand Prix Series live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. GO HERE to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season…NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

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